More than just the proverbial Hungarian blues Clichés and perceptions do not change fast; it was not long ago that Hungary ceased to be seen as a most successful ‘Transition’ country. In fact, Hungary was the first EU member state to turn to the IMF for financial support in 2008.
It is proper to claim that 2011 is the “year of Europe” in Hungarian economic policy making, and only partly because of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union (EU) in the first half of 2011. Subsequent government initiatives, such as the fiscal consolidation plan named after Kálmán Széll (a
Politics of bank rates The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), the Hungarian National Bank, raised the policy rate in January 2011, the third time since the change in government that took place in May 2010. The rate increase drew a rebuke from the growth-focused government, which called it “unjustified” in a
The balance of the EU presidency for small nations Six months of the presidency of the European Union is obviously too short a term for any government to solve complex problems. Smaller member states do better not to entertain ambitions for striking deals or setting directions; country size matters. But
Mark Weisbrot, a fervent critique of the IMF, the gendarme of the financial world, stood behind Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in this conflict with the Fund and the European Union (EU), lenders to the Hungarian government (“To Viktor go the spoils: how Hungary blazes a trail in Europe” (Guardian, 9
These last, however – and let us not fool ourselves – are not great in number; the political and social lives of so many people were unaffected. The greater portion of society deals only occasionally and rather superficially with affairs over and above those affecting their daily lives. This is
HUNGARIAN REVIEW is
published by BL Nonprofit Kft.
Editorial office: 24 Eötvös Street, Budapest, 1067, HUNGARY
E-mail: hungarianreview@hungarianreview.com
Publisher: Gergő Kereki
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Editors-at-Large: Gyula Kodolányi, John O’Sullivan
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